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How to be a poet
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit There are several inspirational and talented writers in this world. Some have the patience and skills to write a novel. For others, they like a shortcut. To write a poem with beautiful verse and few words is great for those with little patience and the know-how to turn images into beautiful verse. Below are instructions for finding your inner poet. Steps Decide what kind of poem you would like to write. In the external links you will find a link that will provide you with suggested types of poems and descriptions of each. Find a source of inspiration. Some common ones are: outdoors, life, love, people, etc. This will help you with your topic and title. Begin with your title. This will help the rest of your poem flow more freely in your thoughts. Come up with one word or topic (from your source of inspiration) and write down a list of words that are associated with that topic. Example: Love: Red roses, white doves, love letters/poems, light, hope, romance, family/friends, etc. (For example, if you want to write about doomed romance, you can get ideas from Romeo and Juliet.) Use a thesaurus. Poetry is about using few words, but making them "the best words in their best order."(Coleridge).John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, 1919, #5286, Web, Aug. 8, 2011. Start writing! You have become a "poet!" Tips Read a lot of poetry -- there's really no substitute. Many people say, "Oh, I just write poetry, I don't read it," but their poetry is generally not very interesting to other people. When you find a poem or a poet you like, it is fine to practice by modeling some poems on that style. This helps you understand why they wrote like they did. Use these efforts as practice while you develop your own unique "voice." Writing poetry is an emotional and psychological system. So try to pull from past experiences so your readers can sincerely relate to your writing. When writing, think of the mood, smell, location, and feelings. If you want to see your poem in print, check out the book Poet's Market by Writers Digest books (expensive in bookstores but usually available at library reference desks to be used within the library). Read about the various poetry publishers, such as university literary magazines, and submit your poem(s) to publications that are likely to seriously consider them; don't send your dark and edgy poetry to children's magazines, for example. Keep trying different places; it often takes a long time for new poets to be "discovered." You can make booklets of your own poetry to give to family and friends. Some local bookstores will take local poetry "on consignment," which means they would pay you for copies as they sell. Bookstores will typically expect half of the sales price as their share. If the world isn't jumping up and down at your new talent, vow to make your poetry even stronger. Find a friend or teacher who likes poetry and reads a lot of it, and ask them for an honest critique. Use the feedback they give you to improve your work. An honest, sensitive, and insightful reader is a writer's best resource. Things You'll Need Pen/pencil and paper, or computer Inspiration Imagination Beautiful words Related wikiHows How to Write Serious Gothic Poetry How to Overcome Writer's Block in Poetry How to Become Inspired to Write Poetry How to Write a Poem How to Write an Essay How to Explicate a Poem External links http://library.thinkquest.org/6066/March/typepoem.htm http://www.poetry.com/ ---- Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on "How to Be a Poet". All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA-2.5 license. Category:How-to articles Category:WikiHow articles Category:Imported, updated, or created in 2011